How to Remove Custom Body/Face Textures from Custom NPC's?

[Zenik]

Hey guys, I've been putting this off a while after several failed attempts at fixing this issue...

 

Basically, I experience heavy FPS drops (45+ open world, and 60 indoors to 10-18.) when I'm around custom NPC's that have their own textures. (Generally 2 or more causes it, but 1 can do it in heavy areas. My skyrim has a LOT of high res textures and a demanding ENB. W/o enb I get constant 60 fps outside of these drops, and minor stutters.) Was told, and believe it's because it doesn't call upon the already loaded textures and you end up flooding VRAM with multiple textures. (In my case super high res. Lol)

 

I tried removing the texture paths in TES5Edit, but when I did my NPC's ended up with burnt skin while wearing armors. After that, I removed the outfits which fixed that issue, but then on certain followers they would appear naked. (Obviously since I removed the outfit.) The only mod which I could remove the outfit and texture paths was without having naked NPC's was Bijin Warmaidens, but I figured there had to have been another way so I left it alone.

 

Also, I never figured out how to do that for the face textures in Nifskope, since there was no texture directory for the face in the ESP's.

 

Do I have to direct the texture paths to where the textures all vanilla npc's use are? I imagined that would just do the same thing, load them over again since removing the paths completely worked, minus what I mentioned.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Rayblue]

1. If using MO, unpack the BSAs into the mods' respective folders.

Run Texture Optimizer on them -- most likely the custom NPC is using Fair Skin Complexion or texture mods that are large.

bUseHardDrivecache in skyrim.ini may cause stuttering on some systems.

[gvman3670]

You don't have to unpack the bsa's to optimize the textures. At least not with this... http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/12801/?

 

You can check the bsa option before running it.

 

I just point it at the mod(s) in the Mod Organizer /mods/ folder and let it go.

[zubat11]

please, confirm if using texture optimizer fixed your problem,

ive tested it once when i had fps problem but using it didnt solved it,

all ive found, it was the bugged skeleton in the old follower files.

are your npcs using custom bodys, skeleton?

[Zenik]

 

1. If using MO, unpack the BSAs into the mods' respective folders.
2. Run Texture Optimizer on them -- most likely the custom NPC is using Fair Skin Complexion or texture mods that are large.
3. bUseHardDrivecache in skyrim.ini may cause stuttering on some systems.

 

 

Doesn't matter what texture I'm using. If I use vanilla Bijin or if I replace the textures with the ones I use for everyone else.

 

I'm not sure optimizing the textures would really solve anything... If it does work it would just be a band-aid since it would still be loading the custom NPC textures individually. (I imagine it would help a bit, but not fix anything. Would probably have the FPS drop last a shorter amount of time, or lose less frames.)

 

I'll check to see if that ini setting does anything for the stuttering. I am running Skyrim off of an SSD though.

 

I do believe it's just a consequence of me running so many high res textures. I average around 4gb to 5gb VRAM usage. Although, I understand Skyrim can only use so much before it starts bugging out. However, it is stable outside of the minor stuttering and FPS drops from custom NPC's with their own texture paths.

 

 

please, confirm if using texture optimizer fixed your problem,

ive tested it once when i had fps problem but using it didnt solved it,

all ive found, it was the bugged skeleton in the old follower files.

are your npcs using custom bodys, skeleton?

 

Bijin Warmaidens doesn't use a custom skeleton I don't think... (Didn't see any skeleton files in the archive.) If it doesn't then it's using my install of XPMSE 2.81.

 

The bodies that the custom NPC's come with are all replaced with UUNP HDT to match the one I use for everyone else.

 

I also checked the other followers and none of them have their own skeletons. They are all using the textures and bodies which I replaced in their packages. (Textures being SRG by Seren4XX)

 

________

 

I should note that mods which add custom NPC's that don't come with their own texture packs work just fine. IE: Immersive Patrols, Immersive Wenches, Deadly Wenches etc etc.

 

Also, I forgot to add that I am indeed using Mod Organizer.

[gvman3670]

Then it could very well be the skeleton and/or body mesh being used in the follower mods. They are pretty easy to change as long as the folder structure allows it.

 

Running the texture optimizer and allowing it to make mipmaps will improve performance for anybody, though, even if only slightly in the worst cases.

[Zenik]

Then it could very well be the skeleton and/or body mesh being used in the follower mods. They are pretty easy to change as long as the folder structure allows it.

 

Running the texture optimizer and allowing it to make mipmaps will improve performance for anybody, though, even if only slightly in the worst cases.

 

Then how would I go about making it so the follower mods call upon the body mesh/textures which all of my other NPC's use? All of the body meshes and textures used are identical between the custom NPC's and vanilla npc's.

 

I looked again in the custom NPC file directories and none of the custom NPC's use their own skeletons.

[gvman3670]

Which followers are you talking about? Because often you need to only unzip them then copy/paste the new parts in. Then zip them back up and install them.

 

With MO you can also go to the mods folder and copy/pate directly into there. The nice thing about that is if it doesn't work the way you want it to you simply tell MO to reinstall the mod and it's good as new again.

[Zenik]

Which followers are you talking about? Because often you need to only unzip them then copy/paste the new parts in. Then zip them back up and install them.

 

With MO you can also go to the mods folder and copy/pate directly into there. The nice thing about that is if it doesn't work the way you want it to you simply tell MO to reinstall the mod and it's good as new again.

 

The followers are these;

Bijin Warmaidens

Bijin Wives

Nicola Avenicci

Sunsakuka's Hidielle Follower

 

Yep, I know all about that. That's what I always do when I replace the textures/body meshes.

 

I just need to figure out how to get them to stop calling upon the textures from the custom folders and use the textures from the vanilla paths.

 

Basically what Yatol says in these posts:

 

http://www.loverslab.com/topic/48433-need-help-with-ctd-on-load/?p=1214909

 

http://www.loverslab.com/topic/48433-need-help-with-ctd-on-load/?p=1215061

 

I basically attempted what Yatol said but I ended up with Nicola and Hidielle not having any outfit on at all, and with the Bijin NPC's they had burnt skin.

[gvman3670]

I don't use those replacers myself. But I'll download one and take a look at it and see if I can help or not.

[gvman3670]

I opened up Bijin Wives to Camilla's texture folder.

 

 

Just open the textures you want to use, highlight and copy all those texture files, then paste them into this folder allowing overwrites. That's it. You can also do that inside of Mod Organizer's /mods/Bijin Wives/ folder for that matter.

 

The same goes for the meshes folder in there. Just copy/paste the body mesh(es) and skeleton into that folder.

 

Have you done this? You shouldn't need to go into any other programs, like TES5edit, to do this. Just change the textures inside the mod itself.

[Zenik]

I opened up Bijin Wives to Camilla's texture folder.

 

Bijin Camilla.PNG

 

Just open the textures you want to use, highlight and copy all those texture files, then paste them into this folder allowing overwrites. That's it. You can also do that inside of Mod Organizer's /mods/Bijin Wives/ folder for that matter.

 

The same goes for the meshes folder in there. Just copy/paste the body mesh(es) and skeleton into that folder.

 

Have you done this? You shouldn't need to go into any other programs, like TES5edit, to do this. Just change the textures inside the mod itself.

 

Yes I have done all of that. However, what I'm trying to accomplish is to load these mods without having them load their individual textures from their custom folders. I would like them to call upon the same textures as vanilla npc's.

 

I'm not trying to change textures or meshes, I'm just trying to get them to stop loading multiple copies of the same texture into the game.

 

_______

 

 

As I understand it here's basically what happens with custom followers that come with their texture paths.

 

Vanilla: Every NPC uses the base texture replacer I have installed. Basically the game loads one instance of the textures, and from there every vanilla NPC's calls on it.

 

Custom: Loads the entire texture which is in that specific NPC's folder.

 

Take Camilla example, she won't load the textures from Vanilla, She will instead load the entire texture from her own texture folder in Bijin Warmaidens which adds another X amount of VRAM in addition to the Vanilla textures.

 

Now multiply that by however many custom NPC's I have on screen/in cell which results in a massive VRAM usage spike which causes the FPS drop.

[gvman3670]

Why would it load more than just the textures in the follower folders?

[antheliusTROM]

You can go directly in the ck and change the npc race, most custom npcs with their own textures have a custom race. You can either change the race to vanilla or change the skin used by the custom race to default male/female body.

[Zenik]

Why would it load more than just the textures in the follower folders?

 

That's precisely the issue. Lol I don't want it to load from the follower folders. I want it to load the textures all of my vanilla npc's use.

 

You can go directly in the ck and change the npc race, most custom npcs with their own textures have a custom race. You can either change the race to vanilla or change the skin used by the custom race to default male/female body.

 

None of them are custom races.

 

How would I change it in CK to use the default texture path?

[zzz72w3r]

I have done it many times with Tes5edit:

 

Pointing the body parts to vanilla path and delete the custom textures.  This will allow the custom NPC to use vanilla and save a ton of VRAM. Or you can consolidate the textures to a single folder other than vanilla, this also saves memory.

 

Caveats:

1. Be careful with the head parts so not resulting in strange face.

2. Not all esp are created equal.  I have had several custom follower CTD after I edited them with Tes5edit.  The author of Tes5edit said this could happen if the follower was created with utility rather than CK, which is not uncommon.  In that case you have to use CK to change the path instead of Tes5edit.  Or just use CK always, even if it's pain in the ass.

3. You have to do this whenever the author update his/her mod.

 

[Zenik]

I have done it many times with Tes5edit:

 

Pointing the body parts to vanilla path and delete the custom textures.  This will allow the custom NPC to use vanilla and save a ton of VRAM. Or you can consolidate the textures to a single folder other than vanilla, this also saves memory.

 

Caveats:

1. Be careful with the head parts so not resulting in strange face.

2. Not all esp are created equal.  I have had several custom follower CTD after I edited them with Tes5edit.  The author of Tes5edit said this could happen if the follower was created with utility rather than CK, which is not uncommon.  In that case you have to use CK to change the path instead of Tes5edit.  Or just use CK always, even if it's pain in the ass.

3. You have to do this whenever the author update his/her mod.

 

Ok, how would you go about doing that?

 

The way Bijin is setup you have all of these pointing to textures;

Armor Addon (Each individual armor piece of the outfit they're wearing. Why Bijijn has this I have no idea. To my knowledge it doesn't add any custom outfits.)

Armor (Points to armor Addon. Not directly to textures.)

FormIDs (Texture references for Armor addon etc etc.)

Texture Set

 

 

I'm assuming you delete Texture set, but then I had burnt skin with armor equipped. At that point do I just delete reference in the armor addon, or replace it with the vanilla path? Deleting it was fine for Bijin iirc, since vanilla game already has outfits assigned. However, for standalone followers they just walk around naked until I give them clothes. (Not sure if it resets since I gave up after that.)

 

As for FormIDs, do I just delete the references to the custom textures as well?

[zzz72w3r]

Armor and Armor Addons are not just cloth/armor but also how you assign bodies different from default to NPC.

 

Messing with Bijin is going to be tricky because they are not simple followers.  Personally I have not touched them because the author is still working on Bijin but at some point I might consider consolidate the body and texture file paths.  You can see where the parts are pointing to in Tes5edit and having them all point to the same sets of body/texture instead of one for each might save VRAM.  I am guessing the author didn't bother because you are not suppose to have that many Bijin NPC together in one scene. 

 

As for using default body and textures, for simple followers, and I cannot stress enough simple because most good follower mods are not simple followers, I usually just delete body related armor/armor addon in Tes5edit except the face parts and correct the path under NPC to default.  Most of the time the followers will just take on whatever body/texture replacer mods I have installed but sometimes they look like crap or even CTD.  If Tes5edit does not work you have to reverse engineer the creation process of said custom NPC in CK so you basically have to learn how to making standalone NPC.  This is the guide helped me getting started: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/25673/?

[Zenik]

Armor and Armor Addons are not just cloth/armor but also how you assign bodies different from default to NPC.

 

Messing with Bijin is going to be tricky because they are not simple followers.  Personally I have not touched them because the author is still working on Bijin but at some point I might consider consolidate the body and texture file paths.  You can see where the parts are pointing to in Tes5edit and having them all point to the same sets of body/texture instead of one for each might save VRAM.  I am guessing the author didn't bother because you are not suppose to have that many Bijin NPC together in one scene. 

 

As for using default body and textures, for simple followers, and I cannot stress enough simple because most good follower mods are not simple followers, I usually just delete body related armor/armor addon in Tes5edit except the face parts and correct the path under NPC to default.  Most of the time the followers will just take on whatever body/texture replacer mods I have installed but sometimes they look like crap or even CTD.  If Tes5edit does not work you have to reverse engineer the creation process of said custom NPC in CK so you basically have to learn how to making standalone NPC.  This is the guide helped me getting started: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/25673/?

 

The first sentence you wrote just helped so much. Lol All makes sense now.

 

My issue was that I never deleted the Worn Armor (Nude Outfit) entry in NPC which directed it to the Armor (Body & Textures) which is why they kept having burnt skin while wearing armor. I guess it kept trying to equip the Worn Armor underneath the outfit (Actual armor.)? Somehow that does and doesn't make sense at the same time. At least it just works though. Lol

 

I guess missing something obvious is what I get for being hella salty over me not being able to use my custom followers without lagging. At least my FPS drop from custom NPC's is gone now! Time to explore Skyrim with a small army. LOL

 

Thanks so much for all the help guys!